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Tableau

You can use Tableau with Dremio Cloud to derive powerful insights from your data and to create real-time dashboards.

You can connect from your Tableau application to Dremio Cloud in either of two ways:

  • Configure a reusable connection in Tableau Desktop, Tableau Server, or Tableau Cloud to a project in Dremio Cloud
  • Connect to a dataset by opening .tds file that you downloaded from Dremio Cloud

Supported Versions​

ProductSupported Versions
Tableau Desktop2021.1 and later
Tableau Server2021.1 and later
Tableau Cloud2021.3 and later

Supported Authentication Methods​

You can authenticate to Dremio Cloud through OAuth 2.0 or with a personal access token that you have obtained from Dremio Cloud. If you want to authenticate your connection to Dremio Cloud by using a personal access token, see Creating a Token for the steps to obtain one.

note

Using OAuth 2.0 with Tableau Server

  • If you are using Tableau Server and you want to use OAuth 2.0 to authenticate to Dremio Cloud, you must have TLS enabled for Tableau Server for OAuth 2.0 to work. See Example: SSL Certificate - Generate a Key and CSR in the Tableau's documentation for additional information.

  • An issue in Tableau Server 2022.1.1 prevents it from supporting OAuth 2.0 for connections to Dremio Cloud.

Using OAuth 2.0 with Tableau Desktop or Tableau Server
An issue in Tableau 2021.3 and later prevents more than one connection to Dremio Cloud at a time through OAuth 2.0. If you need to make a second connection to Dremio Cloud while one connection is already open, you can use a personal access token.

Tableau Desktop​

If you are using Tableau Desktop 2021.3 or later, the recommended method of connecting to Dremio Cloud is by using the native Dremio connector. Alternatively, you can connect by using a Dremio connector that you install yourself.

If you are using Tableau Desktop 2021.2 or earlier, you must connect to Dremio by using a Dremio connector that you install yourself.

Before attempting to connect from Tableau Desktop to Dremio Cloud, ensure that Java 8 or later is installed on your system.

note
  • Connecting to Dremio's EU control plane (https://login.eu.dremio.cloud) is supported in Tableau Desktop 2022.1 and later.
  • It is not recommended to use Tableau Desktop 2021.3.4, due to a known issue in that version. For information about the known issue, see this article in Tableau's Knowledge Base.

Connecting with Tableau Desktop's Native Connector for Dremio Cloud​

Tableau Desktop 2021.3 and later includes a connector that you can use to connect to Dremio Cloud. However, the connector requires the Dremio JDBC driver to be on your system.

Prerequisites​

  • Download the Dremio JDBC driver and copy it to the Tableau Desktop's Drivers folder:

    • macOS
      In a Terminal window, run the following command to download the driver to ~/Library/Tableau/Drivers. As an alternative, you can download the driver from the download site and move it to the folder by using Finder.

      Download Dremio JBDC driver (macOS) 
      curl -L https://download.dremio.com/jdbc-driver/dremio-jdbc-driver-LATEST.jar -o ~/Library/Tableau/Drivers/dremio-jdbc-driver-LATEST.jar

    • Windows
      In a command-line window, run the following command as an administrator to download the driver to C:\Program Files\Tableau\Drivers. As an alternative, you can download the driver from the download site and move it to the folder by using File Explorer.

      Download Dremio JDBC driver (Windows) 
      curl -L https://download.dremio.com/jdbc-driver/dremio-jdbc-driver-LATEST.jar -o C:\PROGRA~1\Tableau\Drivers\dremio-jdbc-driver-LATEST.jar

  • If you want to add JDBC parameters to the JDBC URL that Tableau generates for connections to Dremio Cloud, parameters other than those Tableau sets through the Dremio connection dialog, see Use a PROPERTIES file to customize a JDBC connection in the Tableau documentation.

Steps for Connecting​

  1. Open Tableau Desktop. If you already had Tableau Desktop open, restart the application.

  2. Under the To a Server section in the Connect panel, click More.

  3. Select Dremio.

  4. In the Dremio connection dialog, follow these steps:

    a. In the Product field, select Dremio Cloud.

    b. (Tableau Desktop 2022.1 or later) In the Server field, select the Dremio control plane in which your Dremio organization is located: sql.dremio.cloud (US) or sql.eu.dremio.cloud (Europe).

    c. For authenticating to Dremio Cloud, follow one of these steps:

    • In the Authentication field, select OAuth 2.0. Then, in the Dremio Authentication Server field, specify one of these URLs:

      • If you selected the control plane for the US or if you are using a version of Tableau Desktop earlier than 2022.1, use https://login.dremio.cloud.
      • If you selected the control plane for Europe, use https://login.eu.dremio.cloud.

    • In the Authentication field, select Personal Access Token. Then, in the Personal Access Token field, paste in a personal access token for Dremio Cloud. See Creating a Token for information about generating a token.

    d. In the Project field, if your datasets are in a non-default project of your Dremio Cloud organization or you do not have access to the default project, paste the ID of the project that you want to connect to.
    To obtain the project ID, log into Dremio Cloud, switch to the Dremio Cloud project that you want the ID for, click the settings icon, select Project Settings, and then copy the content of the Project field.
    If you want to use the default project for your Dremio Cloud organization, proceed to the next step. To learn how an administrator for your Dremio Cloud organization can set a default project, see Setting the Default Project for an Organization.

    e. (Optional) In the Advanced tab, specify an Engine to run queries on.

    f. Click Sign In.

Connecting After Manually Installing the Connector for Dremio Cloud​

You can use this method of connecting with any supported version of Tableau Desktop.

Prerequisites​

  1. If you are using Tableau Desktop 2021.1 or earlier, follow these steps:

    a. Download the dremio.taco file from the Tableau Extension Gallery.

    b. Move the dremio.taco file to Tableau Desktop's Connectors folder:

    • macOS
      In a Terminal window, run the following command:

      Move dremio.taco file (macOS) 
      cp <download-location>/dremio.taco ~/Documents/My\ Tableau\ Repository/Connectors/

    • Windows
      In a command-line window, run the following command:

      Move dremio.taco file (Windows) 
      copy C:\<download-location>\dremio.taco C:\Users\[user]\Documents\My Tableau Repository\Connectors

  2. If you are using Tableau Desktop 2021.2 or later, follow these steps:

    a. Download the dremio.taco file.

    b. Move the dremio.taco file:

    • macOS
      In a Terminal window, run the following command to copy the dremio.taco file to Tableau Desktop's Connectors folder. Create the Connectors folder if it doesn't already exist.

      Move dremio.taco file (macOS) 
      cp <download-location>/dremio.taco ~/Library/Tableau/Connectors/

    • Windows
      In a command-line window, run the following command to copy the dremio.taco file to Tableau Desktop's Connectors folder. Create the Connectors folder if it doesn't already exist.

      Move dremio.taco file (Windows) 
      copy C:\<download-location>\dremio.taco C:\Program Files\Tableau\Connectors

  3. Download the Dremio JDBC driver and copy it to Tableau Desktop's Drivers folder:

    • macOS
      In a Terminal window, run the following command to download the driver to ~/Libary/Tableau/Drivers. As an alternative, you can download the driver from the download site and move it to the folder by using Finder.

      Download Dremio JDBC driver (macOS) 
      curl -L https://download.dremio.com/jdbc-driver/dremio-jdbc-driver-LATEST.jar -o -l ~/Library/Tableau/Drivers/dremio-jdbc-driver-LATEST.jar

    • Windows
      In a command-line window, run the following command to download the driver to C:\Program Files\Tableau\Drivers. As an alternative, you can download the driver from the download site and move it to the folder by using File Explorer.

      Download Dremio JDBC driver (Windows) 
      curl -L https://download.dremio.com/jdbc-driver/dremio-jdbc-driver-LATEST.jar -o -l C:\PROGRA~1\Tableau\Drivers\dremio-jdbc-driver-LATEST.jar

  4. If you want to add JDBC parameters to the JDBC URL that Tableau generates for connections to Dremio Cloud, parameters other than those Tableau sets through the Dremio connection dialog, see Use a PROPERTIES file to customize a JDBC connection in the Tableau documentation.

Steps for Connecting​

  1. Open Tableau Desktop. If you already had Tableau Desktop open, restart the application.

  2. Under the To a Server section in the Connect panel, click More.

  3. Select Dremio.

  4. In the Dremio connection dialog, follow these steps:

    a. In the Product field, select Dremio Cloud.

    b. (Tableau Desktop 2022.1 or later) In the Server field, select the Dremio control plane in which your Dremio organization is located: sql.dremio.cloud (US) or sql.eu.dremio.cloud (Europe).

    c. For authenticating to Dremio Cloud, follow one of these steps:

    • In the Authentication field, select OAuth 2.0. Then, in the Dremio Authentication Server field, specify one of these URLs:

      • If you selected the control plane for the US or if you are using a version of Tableau Desktop earlier than 2022.1, use https://login.dremio.cloud.
      • If you selected the control plane for Europe, use https://login.eu.dremio.cloud.

    • In the Authentication field, select Personal Access Token. Then, in the Personal Access Token field, paste in a personal access token for Dremio Cloud. See Creating a Token for information about generating a token.

    d. In the Project field, if your datasets are in a non-default project of your Dremio Cloud organization or you do not have access to the default project, paste the ID of the project that you want to connect to.
    To obtain the project ID, log into Dremio Cloud, switch to the Dremio Cloud project that you want the ID for, click the settings icon, select Project Settings, and then copy the content of the Project field.
    If you want to use the default project for your Dremio Cloud organization, proceed to the next step. To learn how an administrator for your Dremio Cloud organization can set a default project, see Setting the Default Project for an Organization.

    e. (Optional) In the Advanced tab, specify an Engine to run queries on.

    f. Click Sign In.

Creating a Live Connection to a Dataset from Dremio Cloud​

You can generate a Tableau Datasource (.tds) file that represents a "live connection" to a Dremio dataset. No actual data is stored in this file, and you can think of it as a shortcut to a Tableau session with a preconfigured view of your data.

You or a person that you send the file to can then double-click the file to open in in Tableau, provide credentials for connecting to Dremio Cloud, and then query the data that the file represents.

note

OAuth is the only supported authentication mechanism for .tds files.

Before you follow these steps, ensure that the Tableau Desktop option is enabled on the BI Applications page. To enable this option, ask an organization administrator to follow these steps:

  1. Click the Settings icon in the left sidebar.
  2. Select Project Settings.
  3. Select BI Applications.
  4. Toggle the switch next to Tableau Desktop.

After the organization administrator completes these steps, refresh your browser window if you are viewing the SQL Runner.

To download a .tds file:

  1. In the Datasets section of Dremio Cloud, locate a dataset you want to work with and click its name.

    note

    For Dremio Arctic catalogs that are available in your Sonar project, you can access only tables and views that are on the main branch. For more information about Arctic catalogs, see Managing Catalogs.

  2. (Optional) Modify the query in the SQL editor.
    By default, the query is SELECT * FROM <name-of-dataset>. If you want your .tds file to represent a view on the dataset, change the query and preview the results to be sure the view represents the data that you want.

  3. Above the SQL editor, click the button that displays the Tableau logo.

After you complete the steps, either of these actions takes place:

  • If you did not modify the default query in the SQL editor, a .tds file for that query is downloaded to your system.
  • If you did modify the default query, Dremio asks you to name the new view created by the modified query. After you specify a name, Dremio saves the view and downloads a .tds file for the query.

To view the data in Tableau Desktop:

  1. Double-click the .tds file.
  2. Authenticate to Dremio Cloud in the browser window that Tableau opens.

Tableau Server​

If you are using Tableau Server 2021.3 or later, the recommended method of connecting to Dremio is by using the native Dremio connector. Alternatively, you can connect by using a Dremio connector that you install yourself.

If you are using Tableau Server 2021.2 or earlier, you must connect to Dremio by using a Dremio connector that you install yourself.

note

Connecting to Dremio's EU control plane (https://login.eu.dremio.cloud) is supported in Tableau Server 2022.1 and later.

Prerequisites​

  • If you are a Tableau Server admin and you want users to authenticate to Tableau Server by means of OAuth 2.0, you must follow these steps:

    1. To configure OAuth for Tableau Server, run the following command in the Tableau Services Manager (TSM) command line. The only variable that you need to set the value for is <tableau-server-domain-name-or-ip>, which is the domain name or IP of your Tableau Server deployment:

      Configure OAuth for Tableau Server 
      tsm configuration set -k oauth.config.clients -v "[{\"oauth.config.id\":\"dremio\", \"oauth.config.client_id\":\"https\:\/\/connectors.dremio.app\/tableau\", \"oauth.config.client_secret\":\"test-client-secret\", \"oauth.config.redirect_uri\":\"https://<tableau-server-domain-name-or-ip>/auth/add_oauth_token\"}]" --force-keys

    2. To apply the changes to Tableau Server, run the command tsm pending-changes apply.

    3. In the settings of your Dremio Cloud organization, specify the same redirect URI that you used in the command in the previous step:

      a. In Dremio Cloud, move your mouse pointer over the gear in the left navigation sidebar and select Organization Settings.

      b. Select BI Applications on the left.

      c. On the BI Applications page, select Tableau.

      d. Specify the redirect URI in the Redirect URI(s) field.

  • Before attempting to connect from Tableau Server to Dremio Cloud, ensure that Java 8 or later is installed on your system.

Connecting with Tableau Server's Native Connector for Dremio Cloud​

Tableau Server 2021.3 and later includes a connector that you can use to connect to Dremio Cloud. However, the connector requires the Dremio JDBC driver to be on your system.

Prerequisites​

  1. Download the Dremio JDBC driver and copy it to Tableau Desktop's Drivers folder:

    • Windows
      In the command line, run the following command to download the driver to C:\Program Files\Tableau\Drivers. As an alternative, you can download the driver from the download site and move it to the folder by using File Explorer.

      Download Dremio JDBC driver (Windows) 
      curl -L https://download.dremio.com/jdbc-driver/dremio-jdbc-driver-LATEST.jar -o -l C:\Progra~1\Tableau\Drivers\dremio-jdbc-driver-LATEST.jar

    • Linux
      Download the driver from the download site and move it by using this command:

      Download Dremio JDBC driver (Linux) 
      mv <download-location>/dremio-jdbc-driver-LATEST.jar /opt/tableau/tableau_driver/jdbc/dremio-jdbc-driver-LATEST.jar

  2. If you want to add JDBC parameters to the JDBC URL that Tableau generates for connections to Dremio Cloud, parameters other than those Tableau sets through the Dremio connection dialog, see Use a PROPERTIES file to customize a JDBC connection in the Tableau documentation.

Steps for Connecting​

  1. In a web browser, navigate to your Tableau Server site.

  2. In your workbook, click Add a Data Source. Alternatively, you can publish an existing data source to Tableau Server.

  3. In the Connect to Data dialog, select Dremio under the Connectors tab.

  4. In the Dremio connection dialog, follow these steps:

    a. In the Product field, select Dremio Cloud.

    b. (Tableau Server 2022.1 or later) In the Server field, select the Dremio control plane in which your Dremio organization is located: sql.dremio.cloud (US) or sql.eu.dremio.cloud (Europe).

    c. For authenticating to Dremio Cloud, follow one of these steps:

    • In the Authentication field, select OAuth 2.0. Then, in the Dremio Authentication Server field, specify one of these URLs:

      • If you selected the control plane for the US or if you are using a version of Tableau Server earlier than 2022.1, use https://login.dremio.cloud.
      • If you selected the control plane for Europe, use https://login.eu.dremio.cloud.

    • In the Authentication field, select Personal Access Token. Then, in the Personal Access Token field, paste in a personal access token for Dremio Cloud. See Creating a Token for information about generating a token.

    d. In the Project field, if your datasets are in a non-default project of your Dremio Cloud organization or you do not have access to the default project, paste the ID of the project that you want to connect to.
    To obtain the project ID, log into Dremio Cloud, switch to the Dremio Cloud project that you want the ID for, click the settings icon, select Project Settings, and then copy the content of the Project field.
    If you want to use the default project for your Dremio Cloud organization, proceed to the next step. To learn how an administrator for your Dremio Cloud organization can set a default project, see Setting the Default Project for an Organization.

    e. (Optional) In the Advanced tab, specify an Engine to run queries on.

    f. Click Sign In.

Connecting After Manually Installing the Connector for Dremio Cloud​

You can use this method of connecting with any supported version of Tableau Server.

Prerequisites​

  1. If you are using Tableau Server 2021.1 or earlier, follow these steps:

    a. Download the dremio.taco file from the Tableau Extension Gallery.

    b. Move the dremio.taco file to Tableau Server's Connectors folder:

    • Windows In a command-line window, run the following command:

      Move dremio.taco file (Windows) 
      copy C:\<download-location>\dremio.taco C:\ProgramData\Tableau\Tableau Server\data\tabsvc\vizqlserver\Connectors

    • Linux Run the following command:

      Move dremio.taco file (Linux) 
      mv <download-location>/dremio.taco /var/opt/tableau/tableau_server/data/tabsvc/vizqlserver/Connectors/dremio.taco

  2. If you are using Tableau Server 2021.2 or later, follow these steps:

    a. Download the dremio.taco file.

    b. Move the dremio.taco file:

    • Windows In a command-line window, run the following command:

      Move dremio.taco file (Windows) 
      copy C:\<download-location>\dremio.taco C:\Progra~1\Tableau\Connectors

    • On Linux: Run the following command:

      Move dremio.taco file (Linux) 
      mv <download-location>/dremio.taco /opt/tableau/connectors/dremio.taco

  3. Download the Dremio JDBC driver and copy it to Tableau Server's Drivers folder:

    • Windows
      In the command line, run the following command to download the driver to C:\Program Files\Tableau\Drivers. As an alternative, you can download the driver from the download site and move it to the folder by using File Explorer.

      Download Dremio JDBC driver (Windows) 
      curl -L https://download.dremio.com/jdbc-driver/dremio-jdbc-driver-LATEST.jar -o -l C:\PROGRA~1\Tableau\Drivers\dremio-jdbc-driver-LATEST.jar

       

    • Linux
      Download the driver from the download site and move it by using this command:

      Download Dremio JDBC driver (Linux) 
      mv <download-location>/dremio-jdbc-driver-LATEST.jar /opt/tableau/tableau_driver/jdbc/dremio-jdbc-driver-LATEST.jar

  4. If you want to add JDBC parameters to the JDBC URL that Tableau generates for connections to Dremio Cloud, parameters other than those Tableau sets through the Dremio connection dialog, see Use a PROPERTIES file to customize a JDBC connection in the Tableau documentation.

Steps for Connecting​

  1. In a web browser, navigate to your Tableau Server site.

  2. In your workbook, click Add a Data Source. Alternatively, you can publish an existing data source to Tableau Server.

  3. In the Connect to Data dialog, select Dremio under the Connectors tab.

  4. In the Dremio connection dialog, follow these steps:

    a. In the Product field, select Dremio Cloud.

    b. (Tableau Server 2022.1 or later) In the Server field, select the Dremio control plane in which your Dremio organization is located: sql.dremio.cloud (US) or sql.eu.dremio.cloud (Europe).

    c. For authenticating to Dremio Cloud, follow one of these steps:

    • In the Authentication field, select OAuth 2.0. Then, in the Dremio Authentication Server field, specify one of these URLs:

      • If you selected the control plane for the US or if you are using a version of Tableau Server earlier than 2022.1, use https://login.dremio.cloud.
      • If you selected the control plane for Europe, use https://login.eu.dremio.cloud.

    • In the Authentication field, select Personal Access Token. Then, in the Personal Access Token field, paste in a personal access token for Dremio Cloud. See Creating a Token for information about generating a token.

    d. In the Project field, if your datasets are in a non-default project of your Dremio Cloud organization or you do not have access to the default project, paste the ID of the project that you want to connect to.
    To obtain the project ID, log into Dremio Cloud, switch to the Dremio Cloud project that you want the ID for, click the settings icon, select Project Settings, and then copy the content of the Project field.
    If you want to use the default project for your Dremio Cloud organization, proceed to the next step. To learn how an administrator for your Dremio Cloud organization can set a default project, see Setting the Default Project for an Organization.

    e. (Optional) In the Advanced tab, specify an Engine to run queries on.

    f. Click Sign In.

Tableau Cloud​

caution

If you upgraded to Tableau Cloud 2024.2 with a Dremio Cloud account on the EU control plane, you may get an error that says Unable to connect to the Dremio server "sql.dremio.cloud". Check that the server is running and that you have privileges to the requested database. on an existing dashboard source. If you see this error, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to the source of your dashboard in Tableau Cloud and click Edit Connection.
  2. Update the Server name to sql.eu.dremio.cloud.
  3. Enter your authentication credentials and save the connection.
  4. Refresh your dashboard.

Connecting to Dremio Cloud​

  1. In a web browser, navigate to your Tableau Cloud site.

  2. In your workbook, click Add a Data Source. Alternatively, you can publish an existing data source to Tableau Cloud.

  3. In the Connect to Data dialog, select Dremio under the Connectors tab.

  4. In the Dremio connection dialog, follow these steps:

    a. In the Product field, select Dremio Cloud.

    b. In the Authentication field, follow one of these steps:

    • If you want to authenticate by using OAuth, select OAuth 2.0. Then, in the Dremio Authentication Server field, specify one of these URLs:
    • If you want to authenticate by using a personal access token, select Personal Access Token. Then, in the Personal Access Token field, paste in a personal access token for Dremio Cloud. See Creating a Token for information about generating a token.

    c. In the Project field, if your datasets are in a non-default project of your Dremio Cloud organization or you do not have access to the default project, paste the ID of the project that you want to connect to.
    To obtain the project ID, log into Dremio Cloud, switch to the Dremio Cloud project that you want the ID for, click the settings icon, select Project Settings, and then copy the content of the Project field.
    If you want to use the default project for your Dremio Cloud organization, proceed to the next step. To learn how an administrator for your Dremio Cloud organization can set a default project, see Setting the Default Project for an Organization.

    e. (Optional) In the Advanced tab, specify an Engine to run queries on.

    f. Click Sign In.

Troubleshooting Tableau Client Connections​

Set the following environment variable if these three conditions are true:

  • You are using version 14.0 or earlier of the Dremio JDBC driver for connections from your Tableau application to Dremio Cloud.
  • Your system is running Java v9+.
  • Your queries are underperforming because their job profiles show that they are not using reflections.
JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS environment variable setting 
JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS=-Dcdjd.io.netty.tryReflectionSetAccessible=true